The latest annual Paywatch report from the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations finds average pay for chief executives at S&P 500 companies reached a record $22.8 million in 2025, representing a 21% increase from the prior year. The AFL-CIO study reports that this headline number is calculated excluding compensation awarded to Elon Musk.
The labour federation notes that when Musk's compensation is included, the average S&P 500 CEO pay figure rises dramatically to $340.1 million for the year. That change reflects a restricted stock plan for Musk that Tesla shareholders approved in November. Tesla assigned a value of $158 billion to that plan; the company says the package could reach as much as $1 trillion if every performance target is met.
Labor officials cited by the report say the broader uplift in CEO pay is being driven in part by a growing number of mega-pay arrangements that they characterize as inspired by Musk's award. The Paywatch study marks the highest average CEO pay reading since the AFL-CIO began tracking executive compensation in the 1990s.
The report also highlights widening pay disparities between executives and rank-and-file employees. Excluding Musk's Tesla compensation, the ratio of CEO-to-worker pay at S&P 500 firms rose to 312:1 in 2025 from 285:1 in 2024. When Musk's pay is counted, that ratio jumps to 5,387:1.
For context on broader wage trends, the U.S. Labor Department data noted in the report show mean annual wages for all U.S. workers at $69,770 as of May 2025, an increase of 3% from a year earlier.
Corporate compensation committees defend their pay programs as mechanisms to align executive incentives with shareholder value and to encourage performance. The report observes that many pay plans have received significant investor backing. Compensation consulting firm Semler Brossy reported average support for advisory "say on pay" votes at S&P 500 companies of 90.6% through late June, up from 89.4% for all of 2025.
The AFL-CIO Paywatch findings underscore tensions between sharply rising executive awards and more modest increases in average worker pay, while also documenting growing adoption of very large incentive packages at the top end of corporate America.